May 24, 2016 - San Francisco is a city that likes to read. Here is a list of independent book stores in San Francisco that appeal to all sorts of readers. Come October every year, many of these stores will be packed with Litquake events.

Alexander Book Store  (50 Second St.)
Locally owned, Alexander Book Store is an independent general bookstore with 50,000 new books spread over three floors located near Union Square and Moscone Center.
www.alexanderbook.com

Borderland Books (866 Valencia St.)
Through sponsorships, this beloved Mission bookstore has managed to keep its doors open. That's a good thing. You can still get lost in the floor-to-ceiling trove for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles, new and old. And buy a book, you'll keep the doors open even longer. 

Booksmith (1644 Haight St.)
Booksmith is a vibrant, roomy bookstore in the Haight that offers numerous book readings. And we can't say enough about these readings. By and far, Booksmith brings in the top authors to read from their books, year in and year out.

Chronicle Books (165 Fourth St.)
Chronicle Books has the only distinction on this list as both an independent publisher and book store. Once a part of the San Francisco Chronicle, they offer bestselling books, children's books, stationery, gifts and an incredible Instagram feed. 

City Lights Book Store (261 Columbus Ave.)
When you enter City Lights Book Store, you enter the birthplace of the Beat movement. Walk the same aisles Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg perused back in the day. Founded in 1953 by poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights has an extensive and in-depth selection of poetry, fiction, translations, politics, history, philosophy, music and more many hard-to-find titles. 
www.citylights.com

Dog Eared Books (900 Valencia St.)
Sun fills up bookshop shelves through the large front windows along with a range of new, used and small-press titles in an easygoing atmosphere.

Green Apple Books (1231 Ninth St. and 506 Clement St.)
Green Apple Books is an award-winning bookstore serving San Francisco and beyond since 1967. Located in the vibrant inner Richmond and Inner Sunset neighborhoods, both locations offer a wide but carefully curated selection of new and used books in all subject areas. The book collection sprawls across several floors of several buildings with nooks and alcoves bursting with fine books.
www.greenapplebooks.com

Omnivore Books on Food (3885 Cesar Chavez St.)
A bookstore solely for food books. Need we say more? Books for foodies, cooks and beginners learning how to boil an egg cover the shelves in Noe Valley. Come here to find inspiration in this specialty culinary bookstore. 

William Stout Architectural Books (804 Montgomery St.)
William Stout Architectural Books carries more than 20,000 titles in the fields of architecture, art, urban planning, graphic and industrial design, furniture and interior design, and landscape architecture. For more than 30 years, 20 in the current location, it has been a vital resource for architecture and design books, carrying American and international titles, both in and out of print.
www.stoutbooks.com

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